Central Italy is simply beautiful - not just Tuscany, which many regard as the prettiest sister. Every area you visit is stunning - and best appreciated on a bike. From the hills of Emilia-Romagna to the lakes of Lazio and the mountains of Umbria, there is terrific riding to be found on quiet roads everywhere you turn.

Our three-day trip starts from Borgo San Lorenzo, zig-zagging across Italy’s Apennine spine down to Terni in Umbria. Looping out across the Gran Sasso mountains, the next destination is Monte Argentario on the Tuscan coast. The final day heads back inland devouring amazing riding on the way to historic Siena.

To fit this tour in with taking just one week off work, you could freight the bike to/from Nice, which is one motorway or two relaxed days from the start/finish points. Alternatively, the ride from/back to the UK is easily done in three days, if part of each day is on motorways. The catch is that you’d have no scope to explore the historic sights or add one of our daytrip loops. Which seems a shame when the riding here is so good and there’s so much to see. Don’t you deserve a longer trip?

MAPS AND DOWNLOADS FOR A THREE-DAY TOUR OF TUSCANY AND CLASSICAL ITALY

Please note: This page contains the route files for The RiDE Guide To Italy which came free with RiDE magazine in July 2015. These website page are not regularly updated, so please check all critical information before you travel. All route files are in .gpx format. Garmin and BMW users can download the main file, which contains all the routes and our recommended hotels as separate waypoints. TomTom users can download the individual routes and use the Tyre software to convert them. For many routes we also have Google Map links. However, as Google Maps will not plot routes over seasonally closed high Alpine passes (such as Stelvio) when they’re shut, these may not work for every route all year round.